Dear Lifehacker,
My closet looks like a landfill. It holds a bunch of old stuff I don't need anymore, and I feel like I could use the space better by turning it into an office. I want to do it right—not just shove a desk inside and call it a day. What's the best way to turn my closet into a personal workspace?

Sincerely,
Confused Closeteer

Dear CC,
You can turn your closet into an amazing workspace, but you have to clean it out first. Perhaps it's all junk, with maybe a few things you can donate, but you might be surprised by what you can sell. Regardless, get rid of everything you don't need and find new places for items you have to keep. Clothing, for example, does well in a chest of drawers or even on bookshelves (if you keep it nice and folded). Once you have everything out of the way, you can start planning. Let's take it step-by-step.

Once you have an idea of what you want to do, figure out all the things you'll need and make a list. Do you want to paint the inside of the closet? Do you want to put up wallpaper? Figuring out basic design elements, colors you'll want to use, and so on will make it easier to find the parts you'll need down the line.

Step Two: Add Power

Chances are you don't have outlets in your closet and you'll at least need an extension cable and a power strip to supply electricity to your laptop, USB devices, or whatever else you're going to use in your closet workspace. Find the nearest outlet and run the extension cable along the wall. You can adhere it to the wall non-destructively, if you want, by covering it with painter's tape and then painting over it. The desk you choose in the next step may have cable management options, so you'll want to avoid plugging in the power strip now if that's the case. If you're just going to have it sit on the floor or in some other cable management mechanism, feel free to take care of it now.

Step Three: Choose Your Desk

Closet workspaces obviously have a limited amount of space, so your desk options are limited—but not that limited. For nearly every normal-sized desk out there you can probably find a smaller one. On the cheap side, the IKEA MICKE is a great choice. It only costs $49, comes with a drawer, and has a hole for cables. It's narrow enough for most closets, so long as you have a reasonable amount of depth to fit it.

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An even cheaper option is simple to mount a shelf (or just a piece of wood) in the closet. With a few shelving brackets (that'll likely come with any shelf you buy). This is more than enough to hold up a laptop or monitor and a few other items. It also allows you to maximize the space in your closet.

Of course, anything that fits will do. If you have a small table you can use that. Don't rule anything out. A closet isn't supposed to be an office, so just because something isn't supposed to be a desk doesn't mean you can't turn it into one.

Step Four: Use Your Walls

The closet may not provide a lot of working room, but it does offer up quite a bit of storage. Just because you're turning it into an office doesn't mean you need to forego its natural talents. Most closets have quite a bit of room on the walls, and so any wall-mountable storage tools can help you store a bunch of stuff like office supplies, books, unused cables, and most anything else you want to keep in there. Wall pots for plants make really good pen holders. Peg boards are really great for organizing just about anything. Whatever you do, don't forget to utilize your walls. They're your best asset in a tiny workspace.

Step Five: Put It All Together

Once you've figured everything out, move it into your closet from back to front. Just like you got the power flowing earlier, you'll want to handle as much of your cable management as possible before moving the desk in and putting stuff on your walls. Basically, anything that you want to hide needs to go in first. Anything you'll be interacting with regularly because it's right in front of you should go in later. It's hard to change things in small spaces, so do your best to get everything in correctly the first time.

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Other than that, you're pretty much good to go. Putting together a closet office isn't too difficult if you just plan ahead and take the right approach. Good luck, and be sure to post your office in the Lifehacker Workspace Showcase if you make a great one!